16 February - Cape Town - West Indies Coach Courtney Walsh pre-match press conference
[Reporter]
Good day all and welcome to this pre-match media conference with West Indies women's head coach Courtney Walsh. We shall start with those in the room first and then we shall proceed with those online.
[Reporter]
Hi sir, Shubhayan from Repsports. Sir, first of all, an update on Stephanie Taylor after she was stretchered off in the last game?
[Courtney Walsh]
She's still on the medical tier. She's been rested, evaluated still, but the most important thing is to make sure that the athlete is okay. So we're taking every precaution that is necessary to ensure that her health comes first and then once we get the updates on that, we can sort of look to progress. But at this point in time, we're just doing everything to make sure that the athlete is okay. She's well rested, she's recovered before we do any other update in terms of, you know, what she might do or might not be able to do. But her health comes first, so we're going to make sure that she's okay.
[Reporter]
Sir, yesterday Pakistan won a good game against Ireland. Muneeba Ali scored a terrific century for Pakistan. So how do you look at this Pakistan team and what are the areas you think the West Indies can hurt them in the game?
[Courtney Walsh]
Well, we have to play well, we have to execute that. Pakistan is a very good team, we know it over the years, and they've always caused us World Cup upsets, so to speak. But they've always added the nod over us, so we're not going to be taking them for granted. They've always been very competitive game against Pakistan and the way things are now, I mean, we need to sort of get ourselves out of the carpets. It's going to be a very important game for us, and we have to come out and perform to the best of our abilities.
[Reporter]
Hi Coach, Gomes from the New Indian Express. First, just wanted to ask, is Hayley fit and ready because late before the game ended, she had walked off the field with her pulling the shoulder after trying to field a ball?
[Courtney Walsh]
Yeah, she came off the field and was a very major concern for us, but the good news this morning is that she has rested well and the next 24 hours you will know, but she's a lot more positive than the others, so it's a good sign. She's a fighter, she's tough, you know, we've got some good fighters in the set-up, but Hayley's one and she knows her body well and she will struggle a little bit, did the right thing by coming on, and I think that she'll be okay.
[Reporter]
Also on her personal batting performance so far, there's been a lot of responsibility on both her and Stephanie as experienced players. With Stephanie being under the medical assessment, does it add more pressure on Hayley and how is she batting in the nets, if you could?
[Courtney Walsh]
She's batting well in the nets and I think she was just happy that Stephanie was able to play in those first two games. As we know, Stephanie had only just came back in, a lot of rustic, but Hayley was just happy to have her at the other end and we saw what happened in the first partnership. Unfortunately, that didn't unfold in the second game, but these things do happen, but Hayley's been batting very, very well for us in the nets, in matches and that level of consistency, we still want a little bit more from her, but she's really batting well in the nets. As she happens, she's got that other responsibility on her shoulder and she's taken on pretty well.
[Reporter]
Thank you and all the best. Go ahead.
[Reporter]
Coach, Vimal Kumar here. West Indies is obviously not only in this World Cup, just prior to this World Cup, they have been embarrassing with losing a streak. So as a coach, how difficult it has become to manage this team? What kind of conversation do you have when the team is not doing well consistently and especially the team has been world champion in 2016?
[Courtney Walsh]
We have to try to motivate them and that's what I've been doing right out as a coach. The result hasn't been going our way. It's not like we've been playing poor, poor cricket. Yeah, we have been playing that way and the result hasn't been going our way. We've lost a couple of close ones, but we have not been executing consistently as a team. And that's what we want to try and get from a coaching perspective to get the players out and execute with their ability. So obviously when the result is not going your way, there's disappointment, but it doesn't stop us from trying to still improve in the areas that we need to improve on. And we have seen some improvement in some of the areas, but we haven't seen it to get us over the line as yet.
[Reporter]
Hi, Courtney. I was just wondering, you added a few under-19 players to your group before the World Cup. What have they brought to the group? And how would you assess some of the performances so far?
[Courtney Walsh]
Well, they've brought youth and enthusiasm to the group, one. Two, they're good quality players for the future as well. One played in the first game of the World Cup, which was fantastic to have already set up to go out and play. They're players that we're looking forward to for the future as well. But I still think they have a part to play and this World Cup campaign is not over yet in terms of them having a chance to play. So they're not just here for the ride and they get the experience. They're players that can get into the team they've played before. So I see them as players that we're definitely looking for the future, but also this experience will be tremendous for them.
[Reporter]
We have one question that was sent in from back home in the Caribbean. And Wayne wants to know, with England and India making such fine starts, is the West Indies now playing for consolation in the remaining two matches?
[Courtney Walsh]
Well, definitely. We have two matches to play and we're still looking to win those two games. And that's the only way we're going to have any slight outside chance. But I think with the way India and England have played, obviously they're way ahead in the zone. And we'll start to do what we can to try and win our two remaining games and then see where it takes us from there. But at this point in time, I would say India and England, they have gone out in front.
[Reporter]
With these under-19 players in the team and with us losing the first two games, even though we're showing improvement, I am wondering if the coaching staff is thinking of changing up the order and trying something different to get a different result, if you will. Your thoughts on that?
[Courtney Walsh]
Well, we did that for the first two games. We didn't get a result in terms of we changed up the order. And as you know, Steffi hadn't played so she came in. Obviously with two games to go and the injuries that we have and the possibility of people not playing, it is something that we're looking at. And these under-19 girls are in the record to play as well. They're not just serious passengers. So it is something that we're looking at to see what's the best combination to give us a positive result.
[Reporter]
And coach, somehow a marked improvement has been entered into the team. What more needs to be done really to help these girls to get over the line? Because it's not really about winning the World Cup from there, but we saw the team come from behind in New Zealand to finish at the semi-final stage. So can we look for another surprise?
[Courtney Walsh]
Well, we'll be working to try and win our last two games and see what happens from there. We needed to win three from four to be comfortable having a chance. That's not the case. We have lost two from two. So we need to look to win our last two games and then see what happens from there.
[Reporter]
Coach, we wish you the best. Take care, man. Thank you very much.
[Reporter]
Thank you very much, Junior. One last up. Yeah, go ahead.
[Reporter]
Coach, I was just wondering, the game yesterday, what did you make of the conditions? Do you think it was a bit slow?
[Courtney Walsh]
I think it was a good condition for cricket, to be honest. I'm not going to make any excuse. I thought we had a reasonable good start with the bat, but we just didn't capitalise on it on the end. We had a run out again that I think from personal cost us a couple more runs. But I think the way the ladies went at us at the start, we had with Shemaine Campbelle, was pretty decent. We just didn't sort of finish at the end with the impetus that we wanted to. If we had gotten 140, I'm not saying we would have won us the game, but that's what we were hoping to get, at least 140, 150. I think that's definitely a lot more challenging for India.
[Reporter]
All right. Thank you very much for joining us. We shall see you for host match tomorrow.
[Courtney Walsh]
Thank you very much. Have a good day.